Unwelcome Object

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a system of caves in New Mexico. Its ecosystem was threatened recently when a visitor dropped a bag of Cheetos there.

Food and drink are prohibited in the caves. A spilled snack might seem harmless, “but to the life of the cave it can be world changing,” park representatives wrote in a September 6 Facebook post. The Cheetos “formed the perfect environment to host microbial life and fungi.” Much of this was not native to the cave. Rangers spent time carefully removing foreign molds.

The post called this incident “completely avoidable.” It reminded people that “we all leave an impact wherever we go.”